DESPITE Meghan Markle’s numerous attempts at various ventures, she’s had a “depressing” year, a royal expert has slammed.
The Duchess of Sussex celebrated her 40th birthday by launching a project to help women back into work after the pandemic.
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Instead of a similar campaign this year, she’s marking her 44th by releasing yet more As Ever products.
Mum-of-two Meghan sent out a newsletter last week boasting that her Napa Valley Rosé was crowned “The IT drink for summer”.
She added: “We are pleased to share that our 2024 Napa Valley Rosé will be available for purchase next week.”
It is the latest in a long line of releases for her new brand – which experts say “is not working very well”.
Royal expert Hugo Vickers told The Sun: “It is Meghan Markle’s birthday, and as she looks back over the past year I can imagine she’s pretty depressed.
“She’s started off a lot of things and none of them have come to any great fruition.
“Full marks to her for fully reinventing herself and coming up with new ideas, but it’s not working very well.”
AS EVER
When Meghan first announced her As Ever brand, it was embroiled in row after row over the trademark and logo.
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This year it seems she’s gone full throttle with her merchandise, with drop after drop being flaunted on her Instagram with carefully curated photos in gardens.
For her first crop of items, she flogged a range of products from £11 jars of jam to £22 limited edition honey.
Within half-an-hour the range was out of stock, prompting Meghan to post on Instagram: “Our shelves may be empty, but my heart is full!”
Fans snapped up the £11 raspberry preserve, which is marketed as a “luscious fruit-forward spread” in “elegant keepsake packaging”.
But a source said: “This is simply a marketing ploy.
“You make a relatively small amount available so it all gets bought and then you can say it’s so popular it sold out.”
She later opened up about how her As Ever brand has “overwhelmed her” and she’s had nights starting up until 3am worrying about the business.
Meghan sent her jams to a number of celebrities who shared unboxing videos, including Kris Jenner and Zoe Saldaña.
She then decided to “just pause” restocking her As Ever brand after previously selling out in under an hour.
The Duchess of Sussex said she wants to wait until it is “completely stable and we have everything we need” as to not annoy customers.
But not long after this, she announced another drop of new As Ever items was incoming.
Hugo Vickers added: “I don’t think she’s been at all successful quite honestly.
“Very soon her children will grow up and I imagine they will be quite resentful at the way in which they’ve been used. She is using them as part of her marketing campaign.
“Prince Harry always invariably seems to pop up at the end to give credence to her to show that he’s on side with her, it’s all rather depressing.
“I’ve got no idea what’s next but you can be fairly certain she’ll come up with something.
“Maybe one of the things she does will catch on.”
THE SCRAPPED NETFLIX DEAL
Prince Harry and wife Meghan’s £100million deal with Netflix has been scrapped.
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The streamer will not renew their contract when it expires in September.
The Sussexes and Netflix have mutually decided not to make an official announcement.
But streaming execs have quietly agreed to part ways.
It comes after Harry’s vanity project, Polo, about the sport, was watched by just 500,000 people.
It was also understood that bosses were mildly infuriated by Meghan making her As Ever brand a priority.
Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos is believed to remain on good terms with Meghan.
It came after it was announced Netflix had signed a deal with King Charles and Idris Elba for a documentary exploring the impact of the King’s Trust.
And it was understood any deal with the Sussexes could be seen as a hindrance to that link-up.
Lifestyle and cookery show With Love, Meghan only ranked at number 383 in Netflix’s six-monthly engagement report this year, with just 5.3million viewers across the globe.
Described by one critic as an “exercise in narcissism”, it was beaten by reruns of the first four seasons of legal drama Suits, which also starred the Duchess in her pre-royal days.
In truth, the show is a smash hit compared to her husband’s vanity docuseries Polo, blasted as “a dull indulgence about a rich person’s pursuit”.
In the first six months of the year the programme attracted a disastrous 500,000 views globally, ranking it at number 3,442 out of around 7,000 shows.
Mr Vickers commented: “We were told there will be a second series but presumably that’s because they’ve already filmed it and Netflix would like their money back.
“I suspect their contracts won’t be renewed and this is a great worry for them. They lead quite an expensive lifestyle, and that needs to be financed by a lot of money coming in all the time.
“Security will be expensive, the house, the staff, the legal costs. I have a feeling it’s not going so well.”
FEMALE FOUNDER PODCAST
When Meg released the first episode of her podcast – Confessions of a Female Founder – it was criticised for offering NO substance.
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She kicked off the series with an episode titled The Evolution of an Entrepreneur, featuring Bumble founder Whitney Wolfe Herd, 35.
However, royal experts and commentators have questioned the purpose of Meghan’s podcast, accusing her of not putting much effort into it.
Speaking on The Sun’s Royal Exclusive show, writer and broadcaster Esther Krakue and Newsweek’s chief royal correspondent Jack Royston shared their thoughts on the podcast.
Jack referenced a remark made by Whitney about Bumble’s share price hitting its lowest point, saying: “I looked up the share price for Bumble, and it looked like a cryptocurrency pump-and-dump scheme.
“It was trading at $75 a share in 2021, and it’s now $4 a share. So, in other words, if you invested $75,000, you would have $4,000 right now.
“So the fact that Meghan didn’t ask any follow-up questions, like what is that?”
He questioned why Meghan didn’t explore the topic further for her listeners, wondering if it could have been “a cautionary tale about how not to run a company.”
He also questioned whether there was a learning point for the listeners on if we should or shouldn’t be caring about share prices.
Jack continued: “There is so much to unpack from a business point of view.
He also criticised the podcast for having “nothing to do with how to build a business.”
In a later episode, the Duchess of Sussex sat down with Tina Knowles.
But marketing expert Nick Ede told The Sun how chats with famous celebs won’t be enough to save her brand.
This comes as the Duchess decided to “just pause” restocking As Ever – after previously selling out in under an hour.
Meg said she wants to wait until it is “completely stable and we have everything we need” as to not annoy customers.
Mr Ede said: “Meghan obviously is trying really hard to establish herself in a big way, and associating herself with other female founders, was kind of a good idea, because it went well with the As Ever brand, and how that was developing.
“But the issue is that actually the As Ever brand hasn’t really gone particularly far, so she can’t really say that she’s a particularly great female founder.
“And so when she’s been interviewing some of these brilliant people like Sarah Blakely, for instance, who who came up with Spanx and was one of the first youngest billionaires in the world, that’s somebody who’s actually aspirational, somebody who’s worked really hard and created a product which is sold around the world and recognized around the world.
“And unfortunately, as ever isn’t.”
Mr Ede dubbed it more of a “PR spin” than a proper brand.
THE SUSSEXES’ SEPARATE LIVES
Meg and Prince Harry are ‘going their own ways’ as they increasingly live ‘separate lives’, royal experts told The Sun.
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Speaking on our Royal Exclusive Live show, Arthur Edwards and Jennie Bond lifted the lid on the power couple’s recent time apart.
Sun legend Arthur revealed how the pair are ‘doing things separately now’ after failing to be spotted together in three weeks.
Meanwhile Ms Bond, a royal correspondent for the last 35 years, also revealed: “Meghan is not popular. She doesn’t want to come back and they are going their own ways, to some extent”.
The pair spoke on our first Royal Exclusive Live show, which you can watch in the player above and on our YouTube channel.
The event was hosted in front of a live audience of more than 100 special guests.
Mr Edwards said: “I don’t think she [Meghan] can come here much.
“I don’t think people think too much of her.
“I think she’s struggling in popularity in the UK and I think they seem to be doing things separately now. She’s got her programme and he’s got his.
Mr Edwards added: “He comes into Britain now with no fuss.”
This comes after it was revealed Harry spent the night of his milestone 40th birthday without Meghan as rumours continue to swirl.
The duke went on a hiking trip with pals to celebrate his big day – and failed to mention his wife, 43, in his birthday thanks message.
Although sources close to the couple insist it was Meghan who organised the lads’ trip, experts warned it could be a key sign things are not so rosy.
Their separate plans, followed by Harry’s solo trips across the past few weeks, has sparked speculation surrounding their relationship.
WITH LOVE, MEGHAN
According to Netflix, With Love, Meghan offered a fresh take on the lifestyle genre, blending practical food tips with candid conversations.
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However, viewers branded it the “fakest stuff ever”.
Across eight 33-minute episodes the mum-of-two made cringe jokes about her bacon, shared recipes with pals, learnt from celeb chefs and even became emotional over bees.
But less than an hour after the release, harsh viewers already left scathing criticism.
One penned on X: “I’m not even 30 seconds into the first episode and I already know that With Love, Meghan is the FAKESTEST stuff ever.”
Another added: “Six minutes of with love Meghan… ok only for richest people..so.. bye bye.”
“All of Meghan Markle’s “recipes” can be found on Pinterest,” claimed someone else.
But others were loving the series, with a fan posting: “I’m watching With Love, Meghan and it’s delightful. I will never understand the people whose entire personalities are hating her. It’s sickening.”
In the second episode, Meghan welcomes US Office star Mindy Kaling who says: “People wouldn’t believe that Meghan Markle ate at Jack in the Box.”
Meghan fires back with: “It’s so funny, too, that you keep saying Meghan Markle. You know I’m Sussex now.”
Royal expert Mr Vickers added: “She wants to be this wonderful, sweet-natured figure in the kitchen chopping up the petals…it would have been more effective if she hadn’t given that awful Oprah interview in which she was so vindictive.”
‘BURNING’ BATH SALTS
In May, a fan threatened a £7million lawsuit after claiming the Duchess’ bath salt recipe left her with “catastrophic burns”.
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In a letter to Robin Patrick, who is a diabetic, Meghan’s lawyer Cameron Stracher said she should have been aware of the risks associated with the mixture.
The Royal fan, from Maryland, had tried the recipe after seeing it in Meghan’s Netfflix show, With Love, Meghan.
Speaking to RadarOnline.com, she later claimed she experienced “intense burning” and “ulcers” after using the salts – and was still feeling the effects.
The recipe – which Meg, 43, made for pal Daniel Marin on Episode 1 of the show – contains Epsom salts, Himalayan salt, arnica oil, and lavender oil.
But Epsom salts are not recommended for those suffering from diabetes – as they can lead to skin drying and cracking.
Often, diabetics already have dry feet or nerve damage on their legs and feet, according to MedicalNewsToday – so further irritation risks causing wounds or infections, which are likely to heal more slowly in those with high blood sugar.
Robin, however, has threatened to sue both production companies behind the show – Intellectual Property Corporation (IPC) and Archewell Productions – as well as Netflix and Meghan herself for $10 million (£7million) in damages.
In a letter on behalf on IPC, seen by The Independent, Cameron said the company regretted to hear of any injuries Robin “may have suffered”.
However, he asserted that none of the parties responsible for the series owed her a duty of care “because you do not have a special relationship with any of them as a matter of law”.
‘USING’ ARCHIE AND LILIBET FOR PROMO
In March, the Duchess of Sussex was accused of exploiting her two young kids as part of her money-making ventures.
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Meghan posted from her As Ever brand a rare snap with Archie, five, and Lilibet, three, also tagging herself.
Meghan launched an online venture shortly after posting a rare photo of herself with her two children, guaranteeing huge amounts of traffic.
One expert called it “tacky and desperate”.
Royal author and journalist Phil Dampier said: “Nothing happens by accident and she would have thought this through and knows putting a photo of her children out at the same time as her clothing line would get maximum publicity.
“It begs the question whether Meghan is exploiting her two children who remain in the line of succession. I’d expect the Palace to take a dim view of this.”
The Duchess posted the snap of herself with Archie, five, and three-year-old Lilibet on the Instagram account of her As Ever brand, tagging herself in.
She added a dove emoji and wrote: “Every day is a love story.”
Meghan has 2.6million on her personal account, while As Ever has around 734,000.
Royal expert Mr Vickers commented: “Who is the real Meghan Markle? Her big problem is that she’s gone down the celebrity route.
“As a celebrity, you have to keep putting yourself out there in the public arena and reinventing new ideas.
“She’s very successful at getting people to take an interest in every single thing she does, but there seems to be an awful lot of them and nothing ever seems to follow through.
“It stops and becomes something different, re-marketed, renamed.”
